The
Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute Newsletter -September 2002
IN THIS
ISSUE
1. Laws, Policy &
Practice
2. In the News
3. Research Update
4. Public Opinion
5. Facts & Stats
6. About the Evan
B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
1. Laws,
Policy & Practice
VIETNAM PREVIEWS 2003 ADOPTION
DECREE
Vietnam has previewed details of
a decree to regulate international adoptions effective January 2, 2003. Countries
must enter into bilateral agreements with Vietnam in order for its citizens
to adopt-currently only France has such an agreement. In addition, a Ministry
of Justice agency will approve adoption petitions and for the first time, foreign
and domestic agencies will be allowed to facilitate adoptions-ending the need
for adoptive parents to deal directly with private adoption brokers. Other changes
include limiting turnaround of application decisions to four months and allowing
adoptive parents to make a single trip to Vietnam to pick up children upon approval.
The U.S. State Department still warns that "in light of the uncertainties
facing foreign adoption in Vietnam with the implementation of the new regulations
-- and the strong possibility of a suspension of foreign adoptions by the Vietnamese
Government -- American citizens are strongly urged not to enter into an agreement
with an adoption service provider to adopt in Vietnam at this time."
http://travel.state.gov/vietnamupdate.html
GUATEMALAN CONGRESS APPROVES HAGUE CONVENTION
According to several sources, last
month the Guatemalan Congress passed legislation approving the country becoming
a party to the Hague Convention governing international adoption. Before the
Convention becomes effective, however, Guatemala must enact legislation and
deposit its instrument of ratification at the Hague.
U.S. ENCOURAGES ROMANIA TO RESUME
FOREIGN ADOPTIONS
The U.S. Ambassador to Romania called
on Romania to end its moratorium on foreign adoptions and address the systemic
corruption that led to the suspension of international adoption last year, reports
the Washington Post in a August 2, 2002 article, "U.S. To Romania: Resume
Adoptions." Romania is currently reforming its adoption system and is closing
orphanages and transitioning the children to foster homes, according to a September
4 Associated Press article. A September 7 article in the Houston Chronicle reports
that, the Romanian Prime Minister has indicated that the government will allow
limited international adoptions later this year. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36621-2002Aug2?language=printer
; http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-romania-orphanages0904sep04.story;
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/world/1564916.
STATE DEPARTMENT WARNS AGAINST UNLICENSED ADOPTION FACILITATORS
In July, the U.S. State Department
issued a notice urging adoptive parents to ask international adoption agencies
specific questions about their facilitators' experience and qualifications,
and agency responsibility for facilitators. The Department has received an increasing
number of complaints from U.S. citizens about overseas facilitators and notes
that not all foreign governments require adoption facilitators to be licensed.
http://travel.state.gov/adoption_facilitators.html
PRESIDENT NOMINATES NEW ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CONSULAR AFFAIRS
President Bush recently announced
the nomination of Maura Ann Harty as Assistant Secretary of State for Consular
Affairs. The Bureau of Consular Affairs oversees the Office of Children's Issues,
which handles international adoption.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020805-2.html
INS COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
The Immigration and Naturalization
Commissioner, James Ziglar, announced he will retire by year's end, according
to a recent Associated Press article.
NEW FEDERAL INITIATIVE TO INCREASE ADOPTIONS FROM FOSTER CARE
The Administration unveiled a new
foster care adoption initiative, launching the AdoptUSKids.org website (http://adoptuskids.org).
The site is sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
and operated by the National Adoption Center. AdoptUSKids.org features the first
federal Internet photolisting service, allows social workers to communicate
with interested approved adoptive parents and provides comprehensive information
on adoption. HHS reports that there were 12 million visits to the site in its
first week. Additionally, a new public service announcement featuring the First
Lady and actor Bruce Willis encourages Americans to consider foster care adoption
and use the new website. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/07/20020723.html.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FUNDS CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE EMBRYO ADOPTION
This summer, the Department of Health
and Human Services issued a request for proposals to conduct public awareness
campaigns to encourage Americans to "adopt" frozen embryos. HHS will
award $1 million to qualifying organizations. Proposals were due in late August.
http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=68115430034+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve;
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/embryo_adoption_wire_020821.html.
2. In
the News
COLUMNIST CALLS FOR MORE ACCURATE
ADOPTION INFORMATION AND INCREASED ADOPTION SUPPORT
Wall Street Journal columnist Al
Hunt highlighted the 2002 National Adoption Attitudes Survey by the Dave Thomas
Foundation for Adoption, in conjunction with the Adoption Institute, as a welcome
exception to the persistent lack of information about adoption in a August 8,
2002 article titled, "Slow But Steady Progress on Adoption." He urges
the President to increase federal resources for adoption, foundations to fund
adoption initiatives, and the media to accurately portray adoption, so that
more Americans have ready access to reliable information about adoption and
consider providing homes for children in foster care. http://online.wsj.com/public/us
CHILDREN LIVING WITHOUT PARENTS LINKED TO WELFARE REFORM
The number of children living in
"no-parent households" -- living with friends or relatives, without
either parent -- has increased dramatically in recent years, according to a
July 29, 2002 New York Times article, "Side Effect of Welfare Law: The
No-Parent Family." Mounting research indicates a link between welfare reform
and this recent trend. One study by the University of California and the Rand
Corporation found that the percentage of African-American children in central
cities living without their parents has on average more than doubled (7.5 to
16.1 percent) since 1996. Another study by the Urban Institute found that the
number of all children living in parentless households has risen from 1.8 million
children to 2.3 million children since 1996. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/29/national/29WELF.html
NEW JERSEY ORDERS SHUT DOWN OF ADOPTION AGENCY RUN BY FORMER PORNOGRAPHER
New Jersey's Human Services Commission
ordered the international adoption agency, A Child's Hope, to close for various
violations, including lack of necessary qualifications and fraudulent advertising,
reports an August 9, 2002 Star-Ledger article, "State Tells Adoption Agency
to Close." A Child's Hope is run by David Bentley, who started the agency
with no child welfare education or training, and who operated pornographic websites.
Despite his background, the state gave the agency temporary certification and
has repeatedly renewed it, even though the agency had 22 violations in a single
year. The case has prompted the Commissioner to order a full internal review
of the Division of Youth and Family Services. http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-3/102879782051984.xml
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF FLORIDA ADOPTION NOTIFICATION LAW CHALLENGED
Six Florida women, who want to place
their children for adoption are challenging the constitutionality of the state's
requirement for public notification of relinquishment, claiming it violates
their right to privacy, according to several recent news articles. The new law
requires women to publish newspaper notices announcing the pending adoption
proceedings, and include their name and description, the putative father(s)
names or descriptions, and the date and city of conception. The requirement,
part of last year's revised adoption law, is intended to prevent birth fathers
from disrupting adoptions. Previously, women only had to publish when and where
they gave birth.
COERCION AND BABY BUYING DOCUMENTED IN VIETNAM, HUNGARY AND MALAYSIA
Eight people were convicted in Vietnam
recently in connection with a child trafficking ring that purchased 39 children
from unwed mothers and impoverished families between 1996 and 1998. The group
falsified documents and sold the children to foreigners for adoption, according
to the August 1, 2002 Associated Press article, "Vietnamese Court Convicts
Eight for Selling Children for Foreign Adoption." http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020801/ap_wo_en_po/vietnam_foreign_adoption_1
In Hungary, members of an illegal
international adoption ring were convicted for coercing poor women to fly to
the U.S. to give birth and relinquish their infants in exchange for money. The
illegal activity came to light when birth mothers complained they were paid
much less than they had been promised, reports a August 1, 2002 article, "Adoption
Doctor Found Guilty," from The Budapest Sun Online.
http://www.budapestsun.com/full_story.asp?ArticleId={9D50F10297E84CB8B5CB9AB6F7FCFD61}&From=News
Anecdotal evidence indicates that
baby traders are active in Malaysia, tricking poor, unmarried women by promising
them a supportive place to have their babies. Instead, they hold these women
captive and forcibly take or buy their babies to place for adoption, reports
an August 5, 2002 Associated Press article, "Indonesians Targeted by Baby
Sellers," from the Miami Herald.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/news/world/3802688.htm
3. Research
Update
OLDER AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN
MORE LIKELY TO BE ADOPTED BY SINGLE WOMEN THAN OLDER WHITE CHILDREN
Penelope Maza of the Department of
Health and Human Services recently analyzed Adoption and Foster Care Analysis
and Reporting System (AFCARS) data to determine who adopts older children from
foster care. According to the article, "Who is Adopting Older Children,"
in the National Resource Center for Special Needs Adoption's The Roundtable,
29 percent of foster care children adopted in 2000 were older (9-17 years old).
Maza found that older African-American children are over three times more likely
to be adopted by single women than older White children, which impacts adoption
opportunities because older foster care children are more likely than younger
children to be adopted by single women. http://www.nrcadoption.org/Volume16NumberTwo2002.pdf.
INTERNATIONAL ADOPTEES IN SWEDEN
MORE LIKELY TO HAVE MENTAL OR BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS THAN OTHER CHILDREN
International adoptees in Sweden
were 3-4 times more likely to have serious mental health problems, five times
more likely to be addicted to drugs, and 2-3 times more likely to commit crimes
or abuse alcohol than other children in Sweden, according to a study published
in the August 10 Lancet. The research found that among adoptees, 4% of boys
and 5% of girls had at least one indication of poor mental health, compared
to 2% of boys and girls in the general population. Adoptees from Asia and Latin
America born in 1970-1979 were studied, along with non-adopted siblings, immigrants
and the general population born during those years. http://pdf.thelancet.com/pdfdownload?uid=llan.360.9331.original_research.22040.1&x=x.pdf
ONE QUARTER OF FLORIDA FOSTER CHILDREN HAVE SEVERE HEALTH PROBLEMS
A recent Florida study reveals the
health problems and needs of its foster care children. According to the report
by the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies and the
Institute for Health Policy Research, over a quarter of foster parents report
that their foster children have a chronic health or medical problem. In addition,
half the foster children were reported to have severe or moderate health problems.
Further complications are caused by foster parents lack of information about
children's health problems -- nearly half do not have health histories for children
in their care.
http://www.teamfla.org/downloads/FinalFosterCareReport01.pdf
ADOPTION SUBSIDY RESOURCES ASSESSED
The North American Council on Adoptable
Children (NACAC) released a comprehensive analysis of Title IV-E Adoption Assistance
implementation in the U.S., "Forever Families: Support for Families of
Children with Special Needs." The guide lists how states define special
needs, rates the quality of states' programs, and highlights model policies.
Among other recommendations, NACAC proposes that states should broadly define
special needs, so more children having trouble being adopted are helped, and
provide Medicaid coverage equally to federal and state-subsidized children.
http://www.nacac.org/pdfs/foreverfamilies.pdf
4. Public
Opinion
FIRST STUDY OF CANADIAN ADOPTION
ATTITUDES RELEASED
Three out of four Canadians support
releasing confidential identifying information to adult adoptees without permission
from their birth parents, according to a July 2002 study. The survey, a joint
effort between researchers at McMaster and Carleton Universities, polled 706
Canadians on their views of adoption. Over half of Canadians support releasing
confidential identifying information to birth parents without permission from
adoptive parents. But, fewer Canadians are in favor of open adoption -- only
one in three strongly approve of birth and adoptive parents exchanging cards
and letters through a mediator and just one in five strongly approve of ongoing
face-to-face contact between birth and adoptive parents.
When considering who should adopt,
only one-third consider it very acceptable for single women to adopt and less
than one-fifth consider it very acceptable for single men to adopt. Nearly half
consider it very or somewhat acceptable for lesbian and gay couples to adopt.
Canadians view adopted children very
positively. Over two-thirds believe adoptees are no more likely to be "a
problem" than their non-adopted peers, another 20 percent feel they are
less likely to be a problem.
http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/story.cfm?id=1523
5. Facts
& Stats
WYOMING AND DELAWARE TRIPLE FOSTER
CARE ADOPTION RATE
Between 1998 and 2001, half the states
met the federal goal of doubling (or more than doubling) adoptions from foster
care. Wyoming and Delaware succeeded in tripling the number of adoptions in
that timeframe.
Want more facts about adoption? Visit
our Facts About Adoption pages (http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/FactOverview.html)
to find the most up-to-date facts and statistics on adoption, in a concise and
easy-to-read format.
6. About
The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE
Since 1996, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a national not-for-profit
organization, has advanced sound adoption policy and practice for adopted people,
adoptive families and birth parents. The Adoption Institute gathers, analyzes
and synthesizes the best available information from research and practical experience
to identify and develop the most effective policies and practices to increase
the numbers of permanent and loving families for waiting children, as well as
to provide positive life-long experiences for all participants. Working with
lawmakers, practitioners and researchers, the Adoption Institute strives to
improve the ethics of adoption policy and practice, and the day-to-day experiences
of everyone involved.
Our award-winning web site, www.adoptioninstitute.org,
is a popular and reliable source for accurate adoption information.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
The Adoption Institute was established in 1996 with a one-time grant from Spence-Chapin
Services to Families and Children. To continue our work, we depend on new and
renewable sources of funding. We need the financial support of people like you
whose lives have been touched by adoption and who care deeply about the future
of vulnerable children everywhere. Please send a generous contribution to the
Adoption Institute's annual fund today. To learn more about our initiatives
and how you can help, visit http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/development/devintro.html
or call 212-269-5080.
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DISCLAIMER
The Adoption Institute Newsletter highlights news, research, policy legislation,
public opinion polls and other relevant information to educate readers about
emerging trends, newly reported information and public views that may impact
the adoption environment. The Adoption Institute does not make any representations
about the accuracy or reliability of the items reported in the newsletter, and
the Adoption Institute does not necessarily agree with the author's point of
view.
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